Content and Organization
Hecho en Texas is composed of seven modules spread across two volumes: (I) Mi vida en la universidad and (II) Más sobre mí. (Scroll to the bottom of this page for a detailed outline.) The contents of each of the seven modules are organized in four general sections: Comunicación, Lengua, Conversemos and El Mundo Tejano. Below is a brief description of these four sections (adapted from https://trayectosoer.org/).
- Comunicación: These sections (e.g., Introducción comunicativa; Hablemos más; Y después…; Más comunicación; Cartelera; Lectura) highlight language and vocabulary in situations connected to university students’ daily experiences. The corresponding activities give students the chance to practice all four language modalities with partners and in groups.
- Lengua: In these sections (e.g., Hablemos de gramática), students explore the rules that guide how we use Spanish. Rather than being handed the rule and then being asked to memorize it, each grammar structure is situated in real-world scenarios that are relevant to the student. The student is then encouraged to analyze the language data and to then formulate their own rules and test their hypotheses. This is completed at home along with the auto-graded Práctica Individual activities before the day of instruction. This both holds the student accountable and facilitates a flipped classroom model.
- Conversemos: At the end of each module, the student will spend approximately 30 minutes speaking in pairs or small groups. These discussions will be unrehearsed, and will relate directly to the themes in each module. A detailed pre-activity is linked to each Para terminar… ¡Conversemos! section, which is completed at-home prior to the activity. This document allows the student to prepare for the in-class activity by providing information on the conversation scenario, as well as providing a space for them to write questions, highlight important vocabulary, and reflect on discourse markers.
- El Mundo Tejano: These sections highlight a different aspect (e.g., people, places, art, traditions, food) of Hispanic Texas through thematic readings and/or videos, images and tasks that will help the student learn more about the unique ways in which members of Texas’ Hispanic communities have contributed to the state. Along with the El Mundo Tejano section, cultural aspects of the Hispanic communities in the United States and different countries in the Spanish-speaking world (e.g., Hablemos de cultura) are highlighted throughout each textbook module. The El Mundo Tejano review culminates in the My Spanish Texas final project, where students reflect on their real-world connections (e.g., family, friend groups, campus town, hometown) to the language.
At the beginning of each module (Antes de comenzar), students will reflect on the objectives for the given module in terms of language use (Comunicación) and knowledge (Lengua). Then they will record what they want to accomplish in personal terms, Mis Metas “My Goals”, by applying specific themes in the Comunicación and Lengua sections to their real life.
At the end of the module (Antes de partir), there is a summary of contents and students will be asked to review the original objectives for the module and the personal goals they aligned on. Then they will record their accomplishments, both in terms of general outcomes and personal achievements. What is the student most proud of? What aspects of their Spanish would they still like to improve?
Volume 1: Mi vida en la universidad
| Module | Comunicación | Lengua | Conversemos | El Mundo Tejano |
| Module 0: ¡Bienvenidos! | Introduce yourself; Greet friends and people you don’t know very well; Provide some personal information (e.g., your name, country/city of origin); Use numbers 0 – 30 to talk about quantities; Ask simple questions; Spell names and words in Spanish (the alphabet); Pronounce Spanish consonants and vowels; Use classroom expressions in Spanish |
Subject pronouns; The present tense of the verb ser; The present tense of the verb haber; Question words | ¡Conversemos! # 1: “Saludos y Presentaciones” | Introduction of Hispanic Texas |
| Module 1: Somos estudiantes universitarios | Talk about your life as a university student: Classes, activities, people in your life; Tell time; Talk about when your classes and other activities take place (time and days) | Indefinite and definite articles; Nouns: Gender and number; The present tense of regular -ar verbs | ¡Conversemos! 2: Mi Vida Académica | San Antonio |
| Module 2: Mi vida fuera de la universidad (Mi familia) | Describe your family; Ask questions about someone else’s family; Answer questions about your own family; Talk about activities you do with friends and family; Use numbers between 30 and 100 | Possessive and descriptive adjectives; Nationalities; Present tense of -er and -ir verbs; Los números del 30 al 100, Por and Para | ¡Conversemos! 3: Mi vida fuera de la universidad (Mi familia) | Corpus Christi |
| Module 3: Mi vida fuera de la universidad (Mi hogar) | Describe household rooms and furniture; Talk about chores in and outside the house and activities you like or don’t like; Talk about emotions and temporary states; Use numbers 100 to 1.000.000 | Gustar + infinitive & gustar + noun; Irregular verbs in the yo form; El verbo tener; Indirect objects | ¡Conversemos! 4: Mi vida fuera de la universidad (Mi hogar) | El Paso |
Volume 2: Más sobre mí
| Module | Comunicación | Lengua | Conversemos | El Mundo Tejano |
| Module 1: Mi vida diaria | Talk about your favorite places and leisure activities (e.g., sports, hobbies, etc.); Talk about your daily routines and activities in the near future | Uses of the verb ir; Reflexive verbs; Comparative and superlatives, Direct objects, Direct and indirect object pronouns together | ¡Conversemos! 5: Mi vida diaria | Austin |
| Module 2: Mi estilo de vida | Talk about the kind of food and clothes you prefer; Talk about responsibilities and give recommendations/suggestions. | The present tense of stem-changing verbs (e→ie; o→ue; u→ue; e→i); The present tense of verb estar and the present progressive (gerund); Ser vs. Estar; Tener que (and tener ganas de) | ¡Conversemos! 6: Mi estilo de ropa | Houston |
| Module 3: Mis celebraciones | Talk about your favorite celebrations (e.g., birthdays, holidays); Talk about a past memorable celebration/activity | The preterit tense with regular and stem changing verbs; The preterit tense with irregular verbs; The preterite in contrast to the imperfect | ¡Conversemos! 7: El mundo tejano | Las ciudades en la frontera |
